Rodrigo Duterte, once the nation’s highest official, seems determined to prove that you can take the man out of Davao, but you can’t take the mayor out of the man. 

Even during his presidency, his loyalists fondly called him “Mayor,” as if the title held more weight than being leader of the free Filipino world. 

Now, as the 79-year-old Duterte eyes a return to his stomping grounds as Davao City mayor, one wonders: has his political star dimmed so much that only Davao can reignite the flame? Perhaps his legacy, built on tough talk and even tougher policies, hasn’t quite translated to national endurance. 

But fear not, Davao — your favorite local mayor is back, not because he never left, but because maybe no one else wants him. After all, what’s a former president to do when the rest of the country has moved on? Dust off the old “Mayor” sash, of course.